Hover raises millions to create ‘living 3D maps’ – with the help of a former NASA astronaut

It’s hard to imagine Los Altos, California startup Hover running into any kind of trouble raising money for its 3D mapping technology. It helps when your CTO is Ed Lu, an American physicist and former NASA astronaut who enjoyed an extended stay aboard the International Space Station, only to move on to go lead the Advanced Projects Group at Google (where he was responsible for imaging for Google Maps, Street View and Earth).

Billed as a computer vision and 3D mapping company founded by a team of former Navy SEAL operators and Silicon Valley computer vision software entrepreneurs, Hover essentially uses existing 2D imagery to generate photo-realistic, geo-referenced 3D models of buildings and other real-world infrastructure.

The company shares its address with INDIGO-i, seemingly a Hover subsidiary (see video below).

According to Hover CEO Kevin Reilley’s LinkedIn profile, Hover has been serving the U.S. military and Federal Agencies for several years. Listed as Hover’s founder is A.J. Altman, an ex-Intel engineer and U.S. marine.

He and Reilley are two of the four persons listed in the SEC filing, along with Hover chairman and North Vector CEO Ross Hangebrauck, and Alvarez & Marsal director Joel O’Driscoll.

According to Bloomberg, backers include Almaz Capital, De Anda Capital and McKenna Management.